Arabs Cooling On Obama?

December 30, 2008

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, with his silence on Israel's
attacks in Gaza, has confirmed Arab expectations that foreign policy
changes will come small and slow when he moves into the White House
next month.

On the fourth day of Israeli air strikes which have killed more
than 380 people in Gaza, the U.S. President-elect has yet to take a
position, though he spoke out after militants' attacks in Mumbai and
has made detailed statements on the U.S. economy....

"Obama's position is very precarious. The Jewish lobby warned
against his election, so he has chosen to remain silent (on Gaza),"
added Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American
University of Beirut....

The Arab world was largely enthusiastic about Obama's election
victory in November, in the belief that a fresh face in the White House
must be better than outgoing President George W. Bush, who invaded Iraq
and gave strong support to Israel.

But his choice of a foreign policy team, especially Hillary Clinton
as Secretary of State and Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff, have raised
doubts that much will change.

Mustapha el-Sayed of Cairo University said: "I am really
pessimistic ... because when I see the kind of people who surround
President-elect Obama I find they are the best friends of Israel who do
not dare to distance themselves from the positions of the Israeli
government."

We're an awfully long way from the mid- '08 talk that Obama would lose Florida on account of Jewish skepticism, that's for sure.